The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-06-04
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
THE POLE AND IT'S TORCH.

THE POLE AND ITS TORCH.
When located by Sir James Ross in 1881, the
north magnetic pole was on the west side of the
peninsula of Beethia Felix, some 1,4OO miles
axis. Since then, however, its position must have
changed some hundreds of miles, as, from some
unknown cause, it is not stationary but is moving
westward at rate which takes it around the earth
on particular parallel in 1000 to 1000 years.
The needle of the compass now points due north
on meridian passing through western Dakota
or eastern Montana, and turns to about northwest
in England though al the time the mariners COM
pass was brought from China the needle pointed
nearly north from England. The aurora borealis,
like other magnetic phenomena, follows the same
westward course in its given latitude, and is
ifested to a certain distance from the magnetic
POLE It does not reach Pekin, ON the opposite
side of the earth from US, though the display is
often very brilliant at Philadelphia in about the
same latitude; but the magnetic pole passes
onward, the aurora will be farther south in
the opposite hemisphere and farther north in this
thus favoring each northern country in turn with
its beautiful effects.
ONE KINGDOM IN NATURE.
While it may seem singular that the division
line between animals and plants cannot be clearly
traced-some forms appearing to belong to either
or both kingdoms-it is still more remarkable
that mineral substances should seem to be living
creatures. One of the most interesting finds in
the ocean depths is Huxley's Bathy6ius, made of
shapeless motionless slime. 1t has been supposed
to be the common origin of the animal and vege-
table kingdom, but its organic character has late
ly been questioned, and many naturalists now
consider it only gelatinous gypsum. In Cocoon
Cdnddensis we have another animal of few years
ago, which is now regarded a mineral SUBJ
stance.
BIRDS OF YESTERDAY.
number of large and interesting birds have
the Epiornis, of Madagascar, was probably the
largest. Fossil fragments indicate that this crea-
ture was at least twelve feet in height, with
weight five or six times great as that of the
ostrich. Specimens of its eggs have been found,
and measure nearly thirteen and half inches in
largest diameter by nine inches in smallest dame
ter, with capacity of nearly eight quarts. The
Moa, or Ainornis, of New Zealand, was also larger
than any bird now living, its height having been
ten or twelve feet. Its "drumstick" was thirty
two inches long, and its eggs large that
hat would make good egg-cup for them. The
famous Dodo, fifty pound bird of Mauritius, was
once well known to the Dutch, but has not been
reported as seen during the last two hundred
years. The Solitaire is another exterminated
bird of the same island. The Great AUX of the
North Sea, is supposed to have become extinct
since 1874. These are few of the latest disap-
pearances of the bird world other large species
are fast diminishing in numbers, and soon the
x,
example, will have passed away also.
PRIMITIVE CURRENCY.
Schwenfurth has mentioned that toy hoes are
used as money by the Mann Mans of Africa
Tippoo Tip now describes remarkable tribe of
skilled copper-works on the Congo, among whom
copper spears form the standard of value. Enor-
nous spear heads some six feet in length, serve
as currency. Like bank-notes with us, these
spears are given conventional value the large
ones, though of small intrinsic worth, being reck
oned at 81 900 in the purchase of ivory.
HORSE POWER OF A WHALES TAIL.
In recent lecture, Prof. VIM. Turner, of Edin-
burgh University, gave the speed of the Green
land whale as nine or ten miles an hour and that
of the great inner whale as probably twelve miles.
One of the latter animals stranded on British
coast some years ago, and was found to have a
length of eighty feet, weight of seventy -four
tons, and a width of tail of eighteen to twenty
feet With these data, the builder of the Anchor
line steamships calculated that, in order to attain
speed of twelve miles an hour, this whale must
exercise propelling force of 145 horsepower.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SUMMARY.
Thevibrations of even severe earthquakes, says
Prof. g. II. Darwin, very short. Brick and
stone chimneys will be shattered by one of quar-
ter of an inch. AS rule, the disturbance origi.
mates from one and a half to seven miles below
the surface, and very rarely at greater depths
Earthquakes occur on steeply sloping shores, and
CIV AAOo' AS4uOu1 III WluIcI, when the changes
In barometric pressure are greatest. The moon,
also, probably has some influence. The weight
OF the air and of the tides acts upon the situation
as trigger upon gun. The internal heat of the
earth is doubtless the moving cause and the grad
ua uneven shrinkage of the surface its manifesto
ton.
MISCELLANEOUS.
AT the Berlin Aquarium DR.. Otto Hermes has
studied luminous bacillus. In the air the or
ganlsm emits bluish-green phosphorescence,
which can be communicated to dead fishes and to
sea-water but not to fresh water. At a tempera-
ture of about one hundred degrees the luminous
property is lost.
These ten principal divisions of clouds, accord
ing to their forms, have been recommended for
universal use by Prof. Hildebrandsson and Hon.
R. Abercromby of the London Meteorological
Society: High-lerel clouds-cirrus, GIRO stratus,
cirro-cumulus; middle-leUel-strato- Gu
mulo-cirrus; and Notwithstanding, stratus,
strato- cumulus, nimbus, cumulo- nimbus.
The subject of anaesthesia and poisoning in
plants has been studied by an Italian botanist,
DIR. +. Tassi, who concludes certain plants have
property analogous to that variousiy called in
animals irritabilty, contractility, excitability,
etc, but that it is located in no special organ
Some substances producing anaesthetic or poison
Gus effects in animals are in no way injurious to
plants. .